Georgian Interior Ministry dismisses reports of “deliberate damage” of vehicle used by PACE observer mission during October elections

The Georgian Interior Ministry on Wednesday dismissed reports in the Georgian media that said a vehicle of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe’s mission tasked to observe parliamentary elections held in the country in October had been “deliberately damaged and crashed” in the country’s eastern Sighnaghi municipality.

The reports were produced based on a report by the PACE, which said tyres of the vehicle had been “deliberately damaged” on the day of the elections, the Ministry said.

The body added a patrol police crew had been dispatched after an immediate report on the incident had been received, inspecting the area and interviewing the individual who had reported the incident.

The body noted the driver of the car had told the police that the driver of an “unidentified vehicle” had damaged his car, which had been parked on the side of the road, while driving by on the highway. The driver also stated he had “no reason to believe the car had been deliberately damaged”, it added.

The body also said administrative proceedings had been initiated on the incident to identify the offender.